Wag the Dog with Dustin Hoffman: DVD Cover
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Wag the Dog Director: Barry Levinson Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche, Woody Harrelson

DVD - Wide Screen / Pan & Scan Learn more

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  • DVD Release Date: 07/29/1998
  • Original Release: 1997
  • Rating: Rated R
  • Sales Rank: 14,398

Viewer Rating: (1 ratings)

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Scenes

Features

Widescreen and full-screen versions of the film; Audio commentary by Barry Levinson and Dustin Hoffman; "From Washington to Hollywood and Back": a featurette including interviews with Barry Levinson, Jane Rosenthal, Tom Brokaw, John Frankenheimer, Dee Dee Myers, Budd Schulberg, Chris Hegadus, and D.A. Pennebaker; "The Line Between Truth and Fiction," essay on politics and the media; Theatrical trailer; Cast and crew biographies and filmographies; Animated menus

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Scene Index

Menu Group #1 with 23 chapter(s) covering 01:36:51
1. Logos & Main Credits "What gets out of this room...." [7:37]
2. The Apperance of A War. [4:04]
3. The Tanning Salon. [3:48]
4. War is Show Business. [5:08]
5. "I'm glad your momma's not here...." [3:19]
6. Albania Is Hard to Rhyme. [2:18]
7. Going to War. [3:08]
8. The Digital Kitten. [9:59]
9. Private Party. [4:48]
10. There Comes a Time. [2:59]
11. Good Old Shoe. [6:40]
12. The 303 Speech. [4:14]
13. Courage Mom. [4:54]
14. Jim Belushi, ALbanian. [2:59]
15. No Business Like It. [4:48]
16. A Walk in the Park. [6:31]
17. Homecoming. [4:17]
18. Shotgun Wedding. [2:43]
19. So Close and Yet So Far. [1:33]
20. "Best work I've ever done....." [5:19]
21. The Hollywood Page. [1:55]
22. This Just In-Credits. [3:42]

Scene Index

Editorial Reviews

In a 29-day shoot, Barry Levinson filmed this $15 million political and media satire, adapted by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet from Larry Beinhart's novel, American Hero. Two weeks prior to re-election, the President (Michael Belson) is accused of cornering an underage girl in the Oval Office. To keep the media from learning of this, Presidential adviser Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) brings in political consultant and spin doctor Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro), a specialist in such salvage operations. Brean suggests fabricating denials of non-existent emergencies -- such as denials about the B-3 bomber. The denial, of course, is true, since no B-3 bomber exists. Brean visits the mansion of Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) and gives him the assignment to create a patriotic campaign centered around a war in Albania. Motss assembles a creative team -- Liz Butsky (Andrea Martin), the trend-setter Fad King (Denis Leary), and songwriter Johnny Green (Willie Nelson). Treated like an ad campaign, the songs and symbols are transmitted directly from a Hollywood soundstage to CNN. The star of their campaign is a "rescued" pilot -- in reality, a psychotic military prisoner (Woody Harrelson), who's a ticking time bomb. The flag-waving song, "The American Dream" was written for the film by Tom Bahler (who co-wrote "We Are the World"). Beinhart's original novel involved a real President (Bush), a real war (the Gulf War), and the premise that George Bush and Saddam Hussein staged it. Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Customer Reviews

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Wag the Dogby Anonymous

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July 13, 2004: This movie shows us what just might be happening in the government right now. It's a political satire involving a president caught in a sex scandal less than two weeks from the presidential election. A political spin doctor (Robert De Niro) is called in and creates a fake war with Albania to overshadow the scandal, with the help of a Hollywood producer (Dustin Hoffman). This movie is very funny but somewhat disturbing in that it makes you wonder if the government really works this way. I'd heartily recommend this movie to conspiracy buffs, anyone who is critical of our current government (you'll quickly notice some parallels to the war in Iraq), or anyone who likes political satires. Dustin Hoffman should have won an Oscar for his performance in this movie; he was funny but at the same time very real. Enjoy!